Written by John on 27 August 2015.
♦ Moves News ♦ Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
AlDhabaan & Partners in association with Eversheds LLP has announced the appointment of Fahad AlDehais, who joins the firm from Vinson & Elkins LLP as a Partner and General Manager for the firm’s Saudi Arabia practice. Fahad is highly experienced in capital market transactions, having worked on and supervised multiple listings, funds, corporate and commercial transactions and sophisticated foreign investments. He also has extensive experience in banking, insurance and money laundering and has taught numerous courses with SAMA’s Institute of Banking and Finance. Fahad is also a practicing litigator and has advised on international arbitrations, appeared and continues to attend and appear before the specialized judicial committees (tribunals), the Board of Grievances (Commercial and Administrative Circuits), the Sharia Courts and the Enforcement Courts. Commenting in his new appointment, Fahad AlDehais said: “I am excited by the opportunity to work alongside the talented team at AlDhabaan & Partners and Eversheds and follow in the firm’s proud tradition of providing innovative legal solutions to clients.” Mohammad AlDhabaan, Chairman of Eversheds Riyadh office commented: “Saudi Arabia's fast-growing economy continues to make it an attractive region for doing business and Fahad’s legal acumen will greatly assist both new and existing clients.” Nasser Ali Khasawneh, Eversheds Middle East Managing Partner commented: “Fahad is an excellent lawyer with extensive finance and litigation experience. He will be valuable member of the team as we continue to grow both our local and international mandates.”
Written by Editor on 18 March 2015.
♦ Recent Deals ♦ Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, UAE
Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), as a sponsor, on the development and financing for the US$8 billion expansion of an existing, world-scale petroleum refining and petrochemicals complex in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia. "These funds will enable our client, and its partners, to develop further one of the world’s largest refining and petrochemical complexes through a widespread expansion programme," said White & Case partner Jason Kerr. "The cross-border deal team was able to utilise its extensive experience to successfully deliver this complex project financing." The Rabigh Refining and Petrochemicals Complex is owned by Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company - a joint venture of Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. that is publicly listed on the Saudi stock exchange. On 26 February 2015, the parties executed financing documents, bringing in US$8 billion – US$5 billion in debt and US$3 billion in equity - of new funds to the integrated project. Financial close and effectiveness of the financing was achieved on 16 March 2015. Once the expansion project is complete, the US$18 billion combined facilities will form one of the largest refining and petrochemical complexes ever built. White & Case advised Saudi Aramco on all aspects of this landmark transaction: project development, due diligence, commercial launch, negotiation and drafting of finance documents, signing, and financial close. A team of lawyers from offices across the Firm’s global network negotiated 150 sophisticated finance documents with around thirty financial institutions - commercial banks, Islamic finance banks, public investment funds and development funds and governmental export-credit agencies (including Japan Bank for International Cooperation - that are providing financing for the expansion. The Firm also helped harmonize initial and new project documentation across categories of conventional, Islamic and developmental finance, advised the client on international and domestic changes that have altered the legal landscape and commercial context in the years since the initial project was built and provided counsel on commercial contracts and financial instruments relating to the expansion of independent facilities necessary to sustain the Rabigh complex. The team of lawyers advising Saudi Aramco included Jason Kerr and Carina Radford in London; Wendell Maddrey, Jean Shimotake, Jason Webber and Clark Wohlferd in New York; Alex Malahias in Abu Dhabi; and Dr. Waleed Al-Nuwaiser, Doug Peel and Antoine Cousin in Riyadh. Michael C. Smith, Ghassan Shawli, and Kevin Estis led Saudi Aramco’s internal legal team.
Written by John on 02 October 2013.
♦ Moves News ♦ Middle East, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Clifford Chance and Al-Jadaan & Partners Law Firm announced today the appointment of Anas Al Sheikh to the position of Counsel. Anas joins Al-Jadaan from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Capital Markets Authority (CMA) where he held the senior position of Manager of Rules & Regulations & International Standards in the legal department. Anas spent more than eight years with the CMA where he managed a large team of regulatory lawyers. Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Managing Partner of Al-Jadaan said: "We are delighted that Anas has decided to join our growing team. His specialist expertise in capital markets, particularly in connection with regulatory issues, will continue to enable us to deliver the best insights and highest quality advice to our clients." Anas' practice will focus on the full range of corporate and capital markets matters with an emphasis on sukuks and Arabic related regulatory advice. He will work closely with Riyadh-based partners Tim Plews, Abdulaziz Al-Abduljabbar, Khalid Al-Abdulkareem, Omar Rashid and Paul Latto, who, along with all Al-Jadaan transactional associates, will transfer to Clifford Chance's Saudi partnership from 1 January 2014. Earlier this year Clifford Chance announced that it has received approval from the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry to set up a mixed Saudi and foreign lawyer partnership, making it the first international law firm to establish formally in this way in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Graham Lovett, Clifford Chance Regional Managing Partner for the Middle East said: "Anas' formidable expertise in capital markets will further complement our transactional offering in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It also demonstrates that we are focused on the development of Saudi legal talent." The Riyadh based transactional teams were recently bolstered with the hire of Jean-Francois Seguin and Royce Saheed, and the secondment of senior associate Daniel Royle from the London office of Clifford Chance. Clifford Chance continues to be recognised for its cutting-edge work in the Middle-East with the Firm recently being named Middle East Law Firm of the Year by Chambers Global 2013 and IFLR Middle East International Law Firm of the Year 2012 (winning for the fifth time in six years). Al-Jadaan has won the IFLR Saudi Law Firm of the Year in each of the seven years it has been awarded. Both firms also shared the IFLR Debt and Equity Linked Deal of the Year award for the Saudi GACA sukuk and IFLR Equity Deal of the Year award for the Zain KSA rights issue. Clifford Chance has in the past two years launched offices in Doha, Casablanca and Istanbul as it continues to serve clients across the Middle East and North Africa.
Written by John on 20 September 2013.
♦ Recent Deals ♦ Abu Dhabi, Middle East, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, UAE
Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised the Republic of Indonesia on the issuance of US$1.5 billion, 6.125 percent Trust Certificates due 2019. "This is the largest single tranche US dollar international Sukuk offering by an Asian sovereign issuer and follows our work last year in advising the State of Qatar on its US$4 billion Sukuk issuance, which is the largest US dollar Sukuk issuance to date," said Abu Dhabi-based partner Shibeer Ahmed, who co-led the White & Case team which advised the Republic on the transaction. "The global investment community's strong support for Indonesia's international Sukuk issues was demonstrated in the successful pricing of the transaction against a background of volatile markets," said Abu Dhabi-based partner Sean Johnson. The deal was well received by investors with a balanced demand spread across Islamic and Middle East investors, the Republic of Indonesia itself, the rest of Asia, the US and Europe. It was the Republic's fourth international Sukuk transaction since 2009 and the second in its existing Trust Certificates Issuance Programme. The transaction was executed in line with its funding roadmap for 2013 and ongoing objective of promoting Islamic finance in Asia. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered Bank were mandated as Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners for the transaction, with PT Bahana Securities, PT Danareksa Sekuritas, CIMB Bank, First Gulf Bank and Qatar National Bank mandated as Co-Managers. The Certificates were issued by Perusahaan Penerbit SBSN Indonesia III and will be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The White & Case team in Abu Dhabi was led by partners Sean Johnson and Shibeer Ahmed with support from Riyadh-based associate Bryan Kelly and Abu Dhabi-based associates Catherine Andrews and Alison Russell.
Written by John on 26 August 2013.
♦ Recent Deals ♦ Middle East, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Latham & Watkins represented The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) in connection with the development of its US$7 billion Wa’ad Al Shammal greenfield phosphate project in Saudi Arabia and joint venture with the Mosaic Company and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC). The project is a key part of the King Abdullah Project for the Development of Wa’ad Al Shammal Mineral Industrial City in the Northern Province of Saudi Arabia and is expected to create more than 1,500 direct job opportunities. The Wa’ad Al Shammal project will be built in the northern region of Saudi Arabia at Wa'ad Al-Shammal Minerals Industrial City, and in Ras Al Khair Minerals Industrial City on the east coast of Saudi Arabia. The highly cost-efficient project is expected to have a production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes of finished phosphate per year and operations are expected to commence in late 2016, as detailed in the press release below. The Latham & Watkins team included partner Glen Ireland and associate Victoria Salem in London; partner Salman Al-Sudairi, and associates Omar Elsayed and Noor Al-Fawzan in Riyadh. Partner Les Carnegie in Washington, DC advised on regulatory matters and partner Jocelyn Noll in New York advised on tax matters.